Lately, “going to the theater” means sweats, a bottle of $5 wine from Trader Joe’s, and whatever I picked-up from my neighborhood Redbox. This is not because I don’t like going out to see my favorite actors in action. If I could step back in time and watch movies during an era where women wore beautiful dresses and men wore top hats to frequent their local cinema I would time travel faster than you can spit-out featherboasandsequineddresses! Ticket prices around L.A. range anywhere from nearly $14 to $11 per person (even more if you want chair-side service and the luxury of taking off your shoes in public) which makes me think a sequined gown might not be unwarranted today, but (sigh) I can’t afford the tickets or the price of a new dress!

But if I’m willing to wait until the buzz from the newest film dies down, I can take the 15-20 minute drive to Academy Cinemas in Pasadena and see movies anytime before 6pm for $2 and after 6pm for just a dollar more. The historic theater is on Colorado Avenue in cute downtown Pasadena. It’s not the newest theater with the latest features, but it’s tidy, family friendly, and won’t compel most germaphobes to whip out the antibacterial wet-wipes before they start touching or sitting.

The Best Part:Date Night for $10

I can’t tell you how relieving it is to my Dave Ramsey, envelope-system-loving-soul, to not feel guilty about spending money on movie tickets and movie treats! At Academy Cinemas, for $10 cash (no cards accepted) you and your date will get two movie tickets, two small sodas (and they’re legitimately “small” not Dixie cup size), and two small bags of buttery popcorn after 6pm on Wednesdays. I think date nights just moved to mid-week!

Other Cheap Regency Cinema Ticket Locations

From my side of town the Academy Cinema in Pasadena offers the best prices and most convenient location but there are several other Regency Theaters in and around LA that offer similar deals or just cheaper ticket prices on movies night and day. Almost all of them have the kid and senior discounts as well as “Senior Special__ (insert day of the week)” and other “special” movie days. Not all of them offer midnight showings or Date Nights. Below are the locations that offer $2 matinees before 6pm and $3 general admission after 6pm:

The Regency Theaters not listed offer fares a bit higher than $7.50 but cost less than the perk of choosing your own seat at The Grove in Beverly Hills (where I love to go when I can afford it). You can get information on other Regency Theaters at: http://www.regencymovies.com/main.php?theaterId=20

Parking and Misc Information

There is unmetered street parking at the Academy Cinemas. If you can’t find anything on Colorado Avenue, there are several side street options to choose from that should offer stress-free parking. If you’re going to another location and want to plan ahead for parking, check-out the street view on Google Maps http://maps.google.com/ to get an idea of what the parking situation will be like.

The Pasadena location has an ATM inside if you forget to bring cash and there is a Chase ATM less than two blocks down from the theater if you bank with Chase and want to avoid ATM fees. I don’t know what methods of payment all Regency Theaters accept, but I would imagine the $2 theaters require cash overall.